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Talking Points: Hollywood abuzz over Oscar snubs

Stars such as Ryan Gosling, Leo DiCaprio and Tilda Swinton were passed over. Were they robbed?

By Sarah BarmakSpecial to the Star

Fri., Jan. 27, 2012

The Issue: Albert Brooks. Ryan Gosling. Tilda Swinton. Charlize Theron. Michael Fassbender. Andy Serkis. Leo DiCaprio. What do they have in common? They were all actors who were passed over for Oscar nominations — or, as many commentators put it after the list was announced this week, robbed. Chatter about all the deserving stars who shoulda, coulda garnered Academy Award nominations happens every year, but it hit a fever pitch this time around. Here’s a taste of the outrage. (Oh, the outrage.)

Linda Sharpe, The Stir:“I mean, is it possible someone biffed the original Academy announcement? Someone didn’t double-check the press release before it hit the wires? The 6,000 artists and professionals that make up the Academy have been replaced by a single pygmy burro? What other explanation can there be for not including Ryan Gosling in this year’s list? After all, 2011 was the so-called Year of the Gosling for a damn good reason.”

A joking reaction from Drive actor Albert Brooks (@AlbertBrooks), on Twitter: “I got ROBBED. I don’t mean the Oscars, I mean literally. My pants and shoes have been stolen . . . . And to the Academy: ‘You don’t like me. You really don’t like me.’”

Young Adult actor and comedian Patton Oswalt, also not nominated for an Oscar: “Join me for a drink at The Drawing Room, @AlbertBrooks? Me and (Rise of the Planet of the Apes actor Andy) Serkis have been here since 6am”

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Comedic blogger Michelle Collins: “In other words, the Oscars are the same as they are every year: Snobby, elite, old and devoid of any Fassbender penis. Shame, indeed.”

Tariq Khan, Fox News: “Leonardo DiCaprio for Best Actor in J. Edgar — it seemed like the recipe for awards success. An acclaimed yet unrecognized actor. Playing a real life person through the course of decades. Directed by a two-time Oscar winner. Throw in the period setting and onscreen suffering and you might as well have called this ‘J. Oscar.’ But the three-time nominee was overlooked — most likely because of the lukewarm response to the film. It seems that Mr. DiCaprio is destined to eventually win the Oscar — let’s just hope that he doesn’t have to be as old as Mr. Hoover when he finally sees that day.”

Marc Snetiker, Entertainment Weekly:“(A)wards shows like the Oscars have historically rewarded actors experiencing pop culture moments (see: Sandra Bullock). And in 2011, nobody’s moment was bigger than Gosling’s. . . . Gosling, the Marlon Brando of Cornwall, Ontario, didn’t win . . . . So what gives?! . . . Gosling did manage to pull 18 acting nominations over the course of this year — an honour, no doubt — but still no Oscar. In the high school hierarchy of Hollywood, that’s like getting asked to prom by the A/V club but rejected by every major cheerleader outlet in the greater Los Angeles area.”

Kevin Naulls, Toronto Life:“Ryan Gosling can go to hell. . . . So he played a brooding guy with a dark side in Drive? Well, welcome to Murder by Numbers, another movie with the Goz that didn’t deserve an Oscar. It sucks sitting here waiting, but I can’t wait to dole out ‘I told you so’s’ once the Academy reveals what I’ve always known: the Almighty Goz is a total hack (with good abs).”

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